How to Make a Gmail App Password (and Why You Might Need One)

Want to set up Gmail in your email program, and it does not work? You possibly need a special password. Find out below how to make a Gmail app password for your email program or service to access Gmail.

First, 856 Columns inside a Church within a Mosque

can be admired, of course, in Cordoba’s Mezquita. Look closer a bit at the forest, and you will find that, in the mosque’s older part, no two columns seem to be alike.

That is because most were not made for this building but reused from others—and made to fit more or less.

With Gmail using 2-step authentication, you cannot reuse passwords or make do more or less; every program or service connecting to Gmail through POP or IMAP gets its own custom-made app password:

How to Make a Gmail App Password

To create a new Gmail app password so you can access your Gmail account in an email program or service using POP or through IMAP:

Choose the application for which you create the Gmail app password followed by selecting a device under Select device or choose Other to name the email program or service freely.

Note: Do create a different password for each application and make the name recognizable so it is easy to disable the password if necessary.

Click GENERATE.

Copy and paste the generated password immediately to the email program that uses it.

Do not save the password anywhere; if you lose it, create a new Gmail app password.

The password will have 16 characters.

Click DONE.

How to Make a Gmail App Password: FAQ

Why do I need a Gmail app password in the first place?

With Gmail 2-step authentication, your password alone is not enough to log on to your account; a second means you identify you—typically, a code received through your phone—is necessary. This is true when you open the account in a browser, and it it true when an email program tries to log in.

Gmail offers two ways for your email program to still access mail:

OAuth: after you log in with Gmail (using 2-step authentication) and allow the email program or service access to your messages, Gmail hands the app or service a secret token (password) that lets it log in from then on.

Gmail app passwords: Gmail creates a random password which lets an email program or service log on with traditional, password-only authentication until the specific password is revoked.

Can I disable a Gmail app password? Will that affect other apps and passwords?

Yes, you can disable any Gmail app password at any time. It will then no longer work, and any application and service attempting to log in with your Gmail address and the revoked app password will not be able to access your account.

Do disable Gmail app passwords if you think an app or service might be insecure and either have given away or lost the Gmail application password.

No, other Gmail app passwords will not be affected and still work like before—as will email service and programs using OAuth, of course, and logging in using 2-step authentication.

How many Gmail app passwords can I create?

You can create at least 15 Gmail app passwords, and possibly more.

(How to make a Gmail app password tested with Gmail in a desktop browser; updated February 2018; )

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